Huawei Ideos

The Huawei Ideos has just been formally announced and Pocket-lint was on the scene to grab some shots of the new budget smartphone.

Packing in Android 2.2 and sporting the "with Google" logo on the rear, the design is interesting. It may be budget, but we like the feel of the 2.8-inch display device. The rear cover felt solid enough nestling in our hand.

The front controls might not seem like they are in exactly the right order however, as we are used to finding the home button on the far left, rather than sandwiched in the middle. As well as touch controls for back, menu, home and search, you have a four-way controller beneath it. We didn't find we needed it in our brief play with the handset, but it does mean you can easily navigate menus, something the smaller screen will not be so adept at.

Elsewhere you get a 3.2-megapixel camera and all the benefits of Android 2.2 - that means you can turn it into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot to use the HSDPA data connection on your other mobile devices.

Operation seemed smooth enough, although obviously the screen is of a limited resolution so doesn't have the impact of some of the mid- and high-end handsets out there.

Huawei is claiming the Ideos as the first affordable Android 2.2 phone to be developed with Google, and carrying its branding, meaning it will benefit from instant upgrades to the Android operating system, although as we understand it, Android 3 will come with a range of minimum hardware specs, so it remains to be seen exactly how these updates will manifest themselves.

Launching mid-October prices are expected to be around £99-129 as a pay as you go handset.

Chris sits in the Editor’s chair, guiding the good ship Pocket-lint through the tumultuous seas of an ever-changing world of tech. Involved with Pocket-lint from its foundation, he’s best known for his critical eye and throwaway snark.